His shoes, on some days, give him away. During the second half of the preseason game against Seattle last Thursday, Terrance Knighton gave Ware grief for his sideline kicks. Once removed from the game, Ware changed from his cleats to blue and gold Reebok pumps.

Ware pumps it up.

“You know that those are vintage. I was a Reebok guy for nine years. So you accumulate some old, vintage shoes,” Ware said. “My deal is up with them, so I have to find another company to go with. I don’t know where. The guys kid me about them. They say, ‘Look at those old-school shoes, and look what the old guy is wearing.’ That’s OK. I’ve still got it.”

Ware, 32, remembers Dee Brown’s breathtaking performance in the 1991 NBA slam dunk contest. The Boston Celtics’ 6-footer paused before his eye-shielding slam to pump up his kicks. Ware owns a pair of the Pump Omni Lites like those worn by Brown. Ware remains disappointed that Reebok never made him a pair of pump cleats.

“I asked them to. I wanted them,” Ware said. “I could have pumped them up after sacks. Pump up the team, and pump up the crowd. It made sense.”

Running back update. With Montee Ball (appendectomy) and C.J. Anderson (concussion) sidelined the past week, Ronnie Hillman has been getting all the reps he needs.

Almost too many. Hillman backed off some Tuesday, and undrafted rookies Juwan Thompson and Kapri Bibbs got more practice time.

Anderson, who was injured last Thursday, hopes he will be cleared to practice Thursday or Friday. Not certain is whether he will play in the preseason game Sunday at the San Francisco 49ers’ new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.